123 
41 
PV 1 



ADDRESS 

Compliments of 



0(N:iMAAx^y^JU;%ll^ 



Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, 



OKI.IVEUED AT 



KINGSTON, JULY 30, 1 S 7 7, 



Centennial Celebration 



formation of tlic mate fouornment 



STATE OF NEW YORK 



ALBANY! 
WEED, PARSONS AKl) COMPANY, PItlNTEUS. 

1877. 



ADDRESS 



BY 



Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, 



DELIVERED AT 



KINGSTON, JULY SO, 187 7, 



Centennial Celebration 



Jormation of tlic mRk |)oucrnment 



STATE OF NEW YORK 



ALBANY: 
WEED, PARSONS AND COMPANY, PRINTERS. 

1877. 



JUN 3 '910 



ADDRESS. 



Fellow Citizens : 

Ceiiteiuiial celebrations crowd upon lis. Appropriate 
commemorations of events of the revolutionary period are 
the pleasure and duty of the year. Most of them are 
upon historic battle fields, and I'ecall the feats of arms of 
our victorious ancestors. 

The occasion which calls us together has deeper signifi- 
cance than any Ijattle. It is the anniversary of the declara- 
tion and establishment of those principles of constitutional 
liberty, without which the continental soldier had fought 
and died in vain. The story of the formation and expres- 
sion of i^opular opinion upon popular rights during the 
colonial era, its development in the Constitution of 1777, 
and its results for a century, can only be sketched in the 
limits of an address. Unlike the other colonies. New York 
had no chartei'ed rights ; there were no limitations on the 
royal prerogative, and it was only by long and continued 
struggles that any immunities or privileges were secured. 

The Dutch had brought with them from Holland ideas 
of toleration and liberty, of which that country was for a 
time the only asylum in the world ; the English colonists 
were firm in their devotion to representative government. 

By every process short of revolution during the early 
period of the English rule, the arl)itrary exactions of tlie 



Koyal Governors were resisted, and the demands for an as- 
sembly of the people never ceased. 

The claim was based upon the natural and inherent 
rights of a free people. 

Ijx 1683, the home government, unable longer to resist, 
called together an assembly elected by the people. It was 
the dawn of representative government in New York. 
The first assembly of our ancestors immediately asserted 
and enacted into laws the fundamental principles of civil 
liberty. They passed laws for a triennial assembly ; they 
declared all power to vest in the Governor, Council and 
people met in general assembly. The privileges of mem- 
bers of Parliament were conferred upon the assemldy and 
its members ; their consent must be liad to the levy of any 
tax, and all the guarantees contained in Magna Oharta, in 
the bill of rights, in the habeas corpus act, together with 
trial hj jury, and freedom of conscience in matters of re- 
ligion, were declared to be the rights, liberties and piivi- 
leges of the inhabitants of New York. They created the 
township — that school of self-government — provided the 
civil divisions upon the plan which has substantially pre- 
vailed ever since, and organized superior and inferior 
courts for the administration of Justice. The ri<dits and 
liberties tluis established were often violated and arbi- 
trai'ily suspended or (h^iied, ])ut every repetition of such 
tyranny only served to inflame to passionate devotion the 
people's love of lilx-rty, and to prepare the waA' for the 
Declaration of Independence. Ninety-three years after this 
memorable assertion of popular rights, petition and re- 
monstrance having alike failed, the people determined to 
peril life and fortune to maintain and enlarge them. In 
1776, New York was without a regular government. The 



Council was dissolved ; the General Assembly prorogued, 
and tlie Royal Governor a fugitive under tie protection of 
the o:uns of the British fleet. 

The Provincial Consrress sittino; in New York owed its 
existence to the necessities of the times. It was a revolu- 
tionary body, its only charter an election by the people. 
On the 1 5th of May of that year the Continental Congress, 
then sitting in Philadelphia, adopted a resolution requesting 
the respective assemblies and conventions of the United 
Colonies " where no government sufficient for the exigencies 
of their affairs had been established, to adopt such gov- 
ernment as should in the opinion of the representatives of 
the people best conduce to the happiness and safety of their 
constituents in particular and America in general." 

They also recommended the suppression of all authority 
derived from the crown of Great Britain, and the assump- 
tion and exercise of o-overnment under authority from the 
people of the colonies. Of the thirteen colonies, all, 
except Rhode Island and Connecticut, adopted the recom- 
mendation. Their charters did not reserve to the crown 
the control over or veto upon their internal affairs, and 
with them such action was unnecessary. Virginia's consti- 
tution was first, and New York's fifth, in the order of 
adoption. 

A few days after the passage of this resolution the 
Provincial Congress met in New York, Governeur Morris, 
a delegate from the county of AVestchester, then but 
twenty-four years of age, signalized his entrance into public 
life, by urging immediate action, in a speech remarkable for 
its courage and radicalism, and its strong presentation of the 
thought of the time. Pie boldly declared that reconcilia- 
tion with the mother country was a delusion, and that peace, 



liberty and security could only be Lad by independent 
government, and moved that a committee be appointed to 
draw up a plan for the frame of a government. 

These men, acting upon well-understood principles, and 
jealous of every assumption of power, thought that this 
Congress was not elected for this purpose. 

A committee was finally appointed, to whom the whole 
subject was I'eferred, and on the 27tli of May they reported 
"that the right of framing, creating or remodelling civil 
governments, is and ought to Ije in tlie people," that tlie 
old form of irovernment ^vas dissolved and a new form 
was absolutely necessary, and that, as dou])ts existed 
whether the Provincial Congress had po^ver to act, the 
people of tlie Colony be called to elect a new Congress 
specially instructed upon the question of a new govern- 
ment. This report is remarkable as the earliest, clearest 
and most emphatic declaration of the doctrine of popular 
sovereignty. It was New York's contril)ution to Ameri- 
can liberty, learned by more than half a century of 
incessant struggle of the representatives elected l)y the 
people with the repi'esentatives of the royal power. 

Tlie re]^)ort of tlie committee Avas adopted, and on the 
31st a series of resolutions, prepared by Mr. Jay, ^vere 
passed, calling upon the several counties to elect a new 
body, with power to form a new government, and 
instructed also upon the question of united colonial 
independence. In the meantime the seat of war ^\•as 
transferred to New York. On Sunday afternoon of the 
30tli of June, the l)ritish fleet and nniiy under Lord 
Howe liaving entered the harbor, the Congress, appre- 
hensive of an attack by the enemy, resohed that the next 
Congress should meet at White Plains, in the county of 



Westchester, and adjourned. On the 9tli of July, 1776, 
the newly-elected delegates met at the court-house in that 
place and elected General Woodhull President, and John 
McKesson and Robert Berrian Secretaries. During the 
forenoon a letter was received from the delegates of New 
York, in the Continental Congress, inclosing the Declaration 
of American Independence, which had been adopted on 
the 4th. 

It was immediately read and referred to a committee, 
consisting of Messrs. Jay, Yates, Hobart, Brashier and 
Wm. Smith. It was a critical moment for these men. 
They had been Just elected ; only a few hours had elapsed 
since they had qualified and entered upon their duties, 
and now their first legislative act Avas to make up their 
record upon an issue which, if successful, made them 
patriots ; if it failed, traitors and felons. How firm was 
their resolve ; how clear their purpose; how serene their 
minds, is evidenced by the fact that on the afternoon of 
the same day the committee reported resolutions concurring 
in the Declaration, fully adopting it, and instructing our 
delegates in the General Congress to support the same, and 
give their united aid to all measures necessary to obtain 
its object. 

The convention immediately adopted the report. On 
the morning of the next day, the 10th of July, this body 
"Resolved and ordered, that the style and title of this 
House be changed from that of the ' Provincial Congress 
of the Colony of New York," to that of ' The Convention 
of the Representatives of the State of New York,' and 
thus on the 10th day of July, 1776, the State of New 
York was born. In the afternoon of the 10th, they 
resolved to enter on the 16th upon the formation of a 



State government, but by tliat time the situation of affairs 
liere became too alarming for deliberation. Wasliington 
was contemplating tlie abandonment of New York. Brit- 
isli ships of war were anchored off Tarrytown, within six 
miles of where they were sitting. Their whole attention 
was occupied in raising troops and supplies, and providing 
for the public order. On the IGtli they postponed the 
question till the 1st of August. In the meanwhile they 
provisionally ordained that all magistrates and civil < )fficers, 
well affected toward independence, continue the exercise 
of their duties until further orders, except that all pro- 
cesses thereafter must issue in the name of the State of 
New York, and declared it to be treason and punishable 
with death for any one living within the State and enjoy- 
ing the protection of its laws to adhere to the cause of the 
king of Great Britain or levy war against the State in his 
behalf. 

With dangers threatening on every hand, the British 
fleet in possession of New Yt)rk bay, the Hudson river and 
Long Island sound, a veteran army in overwhelming num- 
bers but a few miles distant, thus boldly and fearlessly did 
the Representatives of New York assert her sovereignty. 
On the 27th of July the convention found it necessary to 
remove to llai'lem, and there, on the 1st of August, on 
motion of Governeur Morris, and seconded 1)y Mr. Duer, a 
committee was appointed to prepare and re])<)rt a constitu- 
tion or form of government. 

This committee was composed of the most eminent men 
in the convention and in the Conunonwealth. For a gen- 
eration after independence was achieved a majorit}' of them 
continued to receive, in positions of honor and trust, the 
highest marks of the confidence and affection of their 



9 

countrymen. Tlieir labors in the Cabinet and in Congress, 
in tlie State Legislature and upon tlie bench, and in the 
diplomatic service, form the briglitest pages in the history 
of the nation and the State. 

John Jay was Chairman, and his associates were Gov- 
erneur Morris, Robei't R. Livingston, William Duer, Abra- 
ham and Robert Yates, General Scott, Colonel Broome, 
Mr. Hobart, Colonel De Witt, Samuel Townshend, William 
Smith and Mr. Wisner. The committee were to report on 
the 16th of August, 1770; but such was the perilous con- 
dition of the State, and so manifold the duties of the 
members of the convention, that no report was made till 
March, 1777. The convention meanwhile, by the alarm- 
ing situation of affairs, was migrating from place to place, 
and performing every class of public duty. It was a com- 
mittee of public safety; it was providing the ways and 
means to continue the contest; its members were now 
serving in the Continental Congress, and again with the 
army ; they were acting as Judges and negotiators. To-day 
they were flying befoi'e the enemy, to-morrow furnishing 
protection for the sorely pressed Commonwealth. At one 
time meeting at Kingsbridge, then at Odell's in Phillips' 
Manor, then at Fishhill, Poughkeepsie, and finally at 
Kingston. At Fishkill they supplied themselves with 
arms and ammunition, and thereafter legislated with their 
swords by their sides, literally building the peaceful fabric 
of constitutional government, in the very presence of the 
alarms, the perils and the carnage of war. On the 6th of 
March, 1777, at Kingston, the committee appointed to pre- 
pare a form of government were required to report on the 
following Wednesday, and that day, the 12th, the commit- 
tee made a report which was read by Mr. Duane. 



10 

The draft was drawn by John Jay, and is in his hand- 
writing. This draft was under discussion until the 20t]i 
of April, and underwent some amendments and additions. 
The leading minds in the debates, and in the introduction 
of the amendments ado]^)ted were John Jay, Governeur 
Morris, Robert R. Livingston and Mr. Duane. The con- 
stitution, liowever, was finally passed almost as it came 
from the hands of Mr. Ja} , and was adopted with one dis- 
senting voice on the 20tli of April, 1777. It was the 
evening of Sunday, the President, General Ten Broeck, 
was absent, and also the Vice-President, General Pierre 
Van Cortlandt, but revolutions know neither days nor indi- 
viduals. General Leonard Gansevoort, actino; as President 
pro tem., attested the document. 

The same night Robert R. Li\'ingston, General Scott, 
Governeur Morris, Aljraham Yates, John Jay and Mi', 
Ilobart were appointed a committee to report a plan for 
organizing and establishing the form of government. 
They next directed one of the secretaries to proceed imme- 
diately to Fishkill, an<l have five hundred copies of the 
constitution, without the preaml)le, and twenty -five huu- 
dred with the preandjle printed, and instructed him to 
give gratuities to the workmen to ha\'e it executed with 
dispatch, rhey then resolved that the constitution should 
l>e published on the next Tuesday^ in front of the Court- 
house, at Kingston; aud (he village committee were noti- 
fied to pre[)ai'e for the event. This latter body seem 
expeditiously and economically to have performed their 
duty by erecting a platform upon the end of a hogshead, 
and from this Vice-President Van Cortlandt presiding, 
Robei't Herrian, one of tlu; secretaries, read this immortal 
document to the assembled people. The convention hav- 



11 

ing promulgated their ordinance for the formation of the 
State government, and filled up, provisionally, the offices 
necessary for carrying it on until an election could be had, 
and appomted thirteen of their numl)er to act as a com- 
mittee of safety until the Legislature should assemble, 
adjourned sine die on the 18th of May, 1777. Thus jjassed 
into history this remarkable convention. In lofty patriot- 
ism, steadfastness of purpose, practical Avdsdom and liberal 
statesmanship it had iew, if any, equals, even among 
the legislative bodies of extraordinary merit which 
marked the era. Its address to the people, drafted 
by Jay, and declared by Jeiferson the al)lest docu- 
ment of the period, is a most compact and eloquent 
statement of the fundamental principles of free govern- 
ment, and Avas republished by Congress for the whole 
country, and translated into foreign tongues. Of the 
many distinguished men who were its members, three 
stand out conspicuously, and form an unequaled triumvir- 
ate of social distinction, character, culture and intellect. 
They were John Jay, Governeur Morris and Robert R. 
Livingston. All young men, possessing the best educa- 
tion of the time, belonging to the wealthiest families in 
the State, Ijy Ijirth and (Opportunity certain of royal favor, 
and having the largest stake in loyalty and stable govern- 
ment. They yet risked all, and periled their lives, for 
civil liberty and self-government. John Jay became 
Governor and caljinet minister and foreign envoy, and the 
first Chief Justice of the United States. Govei'neur 
Morris distinguished himself in the councils of the nation 
and the diplomatic service of the countiy. Robert R. 
Livingston rendered the most eminent services, both to 
this State and the United States, and in foreign courts. 



12 

Their examples, efforts and contributions in educating and 
nerving the colonies to the Declaration of Independence, 
in the events which led to the recognition of the Republic, 
and in mouldinor the internal reo;ulations and foreiirn 
policy of the new government, are the special pride of 
~New York and the glory of the nation. No one can 
to-day read the Constitution of 1777, without wondering 
how little we have been al)le to improve upon it in one 
hundred years. When we consider that purely represent- 
ative government was then an almost untried experiment, 
this instrument becomes more and more an enduring 
monument to the wisdom and foresight of its framers. 
It begins with a ])reandjle setting forth the causes which 
led to the formation of a separate government, and the 
authority conferred upon the convention by the pe<^ple to 
do this w^ork. It recites at length the Declaration of 
Independence, and the unanimous resolution of the con- 
vention on the 9th of July, 1776, indorsing the declaration 
and instructing the New York delegates in the Continental 
Congress to give it their support. By virtue of which 
several acts and recitals, says the preamble "All power 
whatever in the State hath reverted to the people thereof, 
and this Convention hath, by their suffrages and free 
choice, been appointed and authorized to institute and 
establish such a government as they shall deem best 
calculated to secure the rii^hts and lil)erties of the o'ood 
people of this State." 

Its first section, which was unanimously agreed to, is the 
key-note of its spirit. It ordained, determined and declared 
that no authority, on any pretense ^vhatever, should be 
exercised over the people or members of this State, but 
such as should be derived from and granted l)y the i^eople. 



13 

The declarations of 1683 were to secure for Britisli 
colonists every liberty granted by tlie crown to the British 
subject. The purpose of the men of 1777 was to substi- 
tute tlie popular will for tlie royal prerogative, and natural 
rights for charters ^vrung from the reluctant hands of 
hereditary power. 

Their experience with tlie colonial Governors had made 
them Jealous and suspicious of individual authority, and so, 
to prevent the passage of laws inconsistent with the spirit 
of the Constitution, or the public; good, they placed the 
veto power in the hands of a council of revision, consisting 
of the Governor, the Chancellor, and the Judges of the 
Supreme Court. 

All bills passed l)y the Legislature were to be submitted 
to them, and tlieir veto was absolute, unless the bill was 
repassed by two-thirds of each House. 

It followed the Eno-lish model in its Leo-islature, and 
created two bodies. Senate and Assembly, and vested in 
them all legislative power. The Senate, twenty-four in 
nunil)er, was to l)e elected for four years l)y the freeholders 
of their districts having freeholds of the value of over one 
hundred pounds, and the Assembly of seventy members 
for one year, by freeholders possessing freeholds of the 
value of twenty pounds, or renting tenements of the yearly 
value of twenty shillings and paying taxes. Provision 
was made for increasing both Ijranches, but the Senate was 
never to exceed one hundred or the Assembly three hun- 
dred. It was the universal l)elief of the time that those 
who paid the taxes and supported the government should 
govern. Universal suffrage was not deemed an inherent 
right, but a privilege to be hedged about wdth j'estrictions 
and limitations, and while we have enlarged the limit, our 



14 

legislation has always held to the theory, until recently, as 
to jDeople of color, and still as to women, and minors, and 
others. It was the change of sentiment on this great ques- 
tion which led to the convention and new constitution of 
1821. The executive power was vested in a Governor and 
Lieutenant-Governor to be chosen for three years, and to 
this term we have retuiiied by an amendment adopted in 
1874. The judicial power was vested in a Chancellor, and 
Judges of the Supreme Court ; and local county courts 
and a probate Jndiciary were constitnted, and they respect- 
ively- held during good behavior, and until sixty-five years 
of age; while a final appellate court, both in law and 
equity, was Jormed by the Senate, the Chancellor, and the 
Judges of the Supreme Court. Says the most eminent au- 
thority of our time: ''The first New York Judiciary ad- 
ministered public justice and protected private lights dur- 
ing the whole period of its existence, in a manner which 
satisfied our people and won applause from all disinter- 
ested observers." 

The appointing power was vested in a council of ap- 
pointment, consisting of four senators, selected annually 
by the Assembly who, with the Governor, were to form 
the council. To this body was given the appointment and 
removal of all officers in the State, except the chancellor, 
judges of the supreme court, and first judges of counties. 
As tlie State increased in wealth and population, the power 
and j)atronage of this council became enormous. It con- 
trolled the ])olitics of the Commonwealth for forty years, 
and, at the time of its abolishment, had within its o-ift 
fifteen thousand ofiftces. Such parts of the common law of 
England and the statute law of Great Britain and the 
colony of New York, not inconsistent with the independ- 



15 

ence of the State, as were in force on tlie 19tli day of 
April, 1775, were declared to be tlie law of New York, 
thus deliberately fixing in the fundamental la^v the day 
when the British soldiers fired upon tlie patriots at Lex- 
ington as the close forever of the supremacy of British 
authority. 

The manner of voting was the subject of much discus- 
sion in the convention. The object was to get the freest 
and most unbiased expression of the popular will. At 
first the advocates of tlie viva voce vote seem to have had 
the majority ; but tliis convention was wonderfully free 
from prejudice, or pride of opinion, or slavery to precedent. 
As stated in the constitution, their o1)ject was to do that 
which best "would tend to preserve the liberty and equal 
freedom of the people " They were willing to fairly try 
any reasonable experiment. AVhile the vote by ballot was 
negatived by two-thirds, a compromise was adopted by 
thirty-three to three, ordaining that, after the termination 
of the war, the Legislature should provide for all elections 
by ballot, and if, after full and fair trial, it was found less 
conducive to the safety and interest of the State, the viva 
voce practice might be restored. In 1787, the requisite 
law was enacted for voting by ballot, and that method has 
continued ever since. 

The question of religious tolerance excited great interest 
and the longest debate. By personal ex})erience and family 
tradition these men were very familiar with the results of 
bigotry and intolerance. With the exception of Holland, 
there was scarcely a place in the world where religious free- 
dom was permitted. John Jay, true to his Huguenot recol- 
lections and training, threw the weight of his great influ- 
ence and ability ou the side of restriction. He moved to 



16 

" except tlie professors of the religion of tlie clinreli of 
Rome, until tliey sliould take oath that tliey verily believed 
tliat no ]^ope, priest, or foreign authority hath po^ver to 
absolve the subjects of the State from allegiance, and unless 
they renounced the false, wicked and damnable doctrine 
that the pope has power to absolve men from their sins," 
this having been voted down by nineteen to ten, it was 
then moved, " that this toleration shall not extend to justify 
the professors of any religion in disturljing the peace or 
violating the laws of this State," this too was rejected, and 
the convention, to their immortal honor and glory, 
established liberty of conscience in these memorable 
words : '' This convention doth in the name and by the au- 
thority of the good people of this State, ordain^ detennine 
and declare, that the free exercise and enjoyment of relig- 
ious profession and worship, without discrimination or pre- 
ference, shall forever hereafter be allowed within this State 
to all mankind." Thomas Jefferson forced a like expres- 
sion from Virginia, l)ut with that exception : New York alone 
amono; the tliirteen States l)eo:an its existence with absolute 
and untrammeled religious liberty. 

The C(jnstitution provided for the naturalization of 
foreigners, for trial l^y jury, for a militia service with 
recognition of the Quakers, and for the protection of 
Indians within the State limits. Acts of attainder were 
prohibited, no person was to l)e disfranchised, except by 
law of the land or the judgment of liis peers; freedom of 
debate in legislative bodies was secured; parties iinpeaclied 
or indicted for crimes were to V)e allowed counsel as in 
civil cases, and the Legislature were prohibited from insti- 
tuting any court except such as sliould proceed according 
to the course of the common law. Pause for a moment 



17 

and reflect upon the conditions under wliicli this Constitii. 
tion was pre^^ared and adopted. Its framers in perpetual 
peril of their lives, at some period during their delibera- 
tions, every county in the State invaded by the enemy, 
devoting most of their time to the public defense and the 
protection of their families, without precedent to guide 
them, save the English model, their own experience, and 
thoughtful study of the principles of liberty. " Our Con- 
stitution," said Mr. Jay in his letter to the President of 
the Convention, "is universally a})proved even in New Eng- 
land, where few New York productions have credit." The 
verdict of posterity is unanimous and emphatic, that it 
deserves a high place among the few immortal documents 
which attest and determine the progress of the people, 
and the growth and defense of human liljerty. Its princi- 
pal features were incorporated into the Constitution of the 
United States, and followed by a majority of the new Com- 
monwealths, which from time to time were admitted into 
the Union. The men whose virtues we celebrate here to- 
day, did not build better than they knew. It is the 
crowning merit of their work that it fulfilled its purpose. 
The peril of their position, the time, nearly the darkest 
and most hopeless of the i-evolution, so purified their 
actions and intensified their thoughts, that reason became 
almost prophecy. The brilliance of the promise is 
equaled by the splendor of the performance. The salient 
principles of the old Constitution underlie the new, and 
every present effort to abandon other experiments and 
restore the ancient forms, is the best tribute posterity can 
pay to the marvelous wisdom of the members of our first 
State Convention. The Constitution of 1777 remained in 
force for over forty years, and then with some minor modi- 



fications, the extension of suffrage, and the concentration 
of more power in the Governor, it continued substantially 
unchanged until 1846. The public improvements of the 
State, its growth in population, and local necessities 
demanded some amendments, and to provide for the public 
debt, and limit the debt contracting power, and to enlarge 
tbe Judiciary, the Convention of 1846 was called together. 
While preserving many of the essential features of the 
old Constitution, this Convention made changes which radi- 
cally altered our scheme of State administration. The 
Grovernor was stripped of nearly all j^owei', the author- 
ity of the Legislature was restricted, and appointments 
to office, and local administration given directly to the 
people. The whole civil service, which for seventy years 
had l)een appointed by the Council of Appointment and 
the Governor and Senate, was reduced to elective offices. 
The judiciary, which had l)een selected by the Executive, 
and held its place during good beliavior, was submitted to 
popular nomination and election, and very short terms of 
service. Tlie whole instrument is a pi'otest against the 
concentration of j)()\\er in any brancli of the govei'ument, 
and a demand for its surrender at the shortest possible 
intervals by the Executive, tlie legislative and the judicial 
officers, back again to the people. It cut up and sul)- 
divided, for the election of the Legislature, the large 
districts, with their guarantee of larger men for repre- 
sentatives, and made statesmanship difficult in proportion 
as it nuiltiplied the op})ortunities and increased the 
influence of the local politician. It so widely distributed 
official authoi-ity and responsibility that each soldier of a 
v^ast army of j^lacemen was accountable only to the haz- 
ards of a re-election at the end of a brief term, and the 



19 

Governor was the head of an administration beyond the 
reach of apjwintment, removal or control by him. Tlie 
wisdom of the revolution, especially in the judiciary, has 
never ceased to be doubted, and within the past five years, 
by duly adopted amendments, more permanency and 
dignity have been given to our higher and appellate courts, 
by reorganizing them upon a muj'e harmonious basis, with 
more symmetry and concentration, and longer terms of 
service. The tendency of recent Constitutional reform has 
been to old methods in respect to the Executive, both in 
regard to his length of service and general powers, and 
happily to drive from the Legislature special legislation 
for the benefit of individuals, corporations or localities, 
and compel the enactment of such general laws as will 
bear eijually in both grant and limitation upon all, giving 
to none the exclusive Ijenefits and franchises of the State. 
But tlie methods provided by the Constitution of 1846 to 
preserve the credit of New York, to reform and simplify 
the practice and codify the laws, are worthy of all praise, 
and have been adopted by a large number of the other 
States. Let us hope that very soon our fundamental law 
may be still further amended to stop the increase of local 
and municipal debt, the source and fountain of extrava- 
gance, peculation and fraud, and the greatest curse of our 
time. 

This brief review of our constitutional history leads 
naturallv to an inquiry as to what practical results have 
been obtained by these princi2)les and plans of government. 
The first election for State ofiicers and members of the 
Legislature was held in June, 1777, in all the counties not 
in possession of the enemy, by the ofiicers appointed by the 
convention. A majority of the council of safety sought to 



20 

control the matter by nominating Philip Schuyler for 
Governor, and George Clinton for Lieutenant-Governor. 
As Jay said, in proclaiming these nominations : " Our Con- 
stitution is universally approved and does honor to our 
State. Let us not lose our credit in committing the 
government of it to men inadequate to the task. These 
gentlemen are respectable abi'oad. Their attachment to 
the cause is confessed and their abilities unquestionable. 
Let us endeavor to be as unanimous as possible." 

Notwithstanding this powerful nomination, forty-one 
candidates ran, 13,179 votes were cast, and General George 
Clinton was elected both Governor and Lieutenant- 
Governor. He resigned the latter office, and General 
Pierre Van Cortlandt, as President of the Senate, became 
Lieutenant-Governor. 

The newly-elected Governor ^vas cast in the mould of 
the sternest and most inilexil)le patriotism. The highest 
office in the gift of the peo[)le had come to him unsolicited, 
but he hesitated long Ijefore aceepting it. Regardless of 
personal sacrifice or ambition, he wanted first clearly to see 
whether his duty to the cause could l)e best performed in 
the field or the executive chair. The council of safety, rest- 
ive under their great responsibilities, demanded that he 
immediately leave his command and assume the helm of 
State. 

Washington and Putnam ad\'ised his acceptance, and 
among the expressions of opinion from all (piarters, the 
Consistory of the Dutch Peformed Church, at Kingston, 
addressed him a most earnest appeal and congratulation. 
" From the beginning of the present war," they said, " the 
Consistory and people of Kingston have uniformly been 
attached to the cause of America, and justify, upon the 



21 

soundest principles of religion and morality, tlie glorious 
revolution of a free and oppressed country. Take tlien, 
with the acclamation and fullest confidence of the public — 
take, sir, the government into your hands, and let the 
unsolicited voice of the Avhole State prevail upon you to 
enter upon this arduous task. The Consistory esteem 
themselves especially happy in having cause to believe 
that religious liberty, ^vithout which all other privileges 
are not worth enjoying, will be strenuously supported by 
your Excellency." 

He yielded his own judgment to the universal anxiety, 
and the 30th of July, 1777, was hxed for the inauguration. 
And so, one hundi'ed years ago to day, upon this spot, the 
council of safety surrendered its powers. General George 
Clinton was inaugurated Governor, and the State of New 
York, under a constitution and duly organized government, 
l)egan its history. He came from the very presence of the 
enemy to assume the robes of office, to return to his post 
when the ceremony was over, and the proclamation Avhich 
made him Governor, General and Commander of the 
Militia and Admiral of the Navy of the State, was the 
first State paper bearing the startling attest " God save the 
People." Forts Clinton and Montgomery were attacked 
in the Hio-hlands, Herkimer was battling in the Valley of 
the Mohawk, Biu'goyne was marching from the north, and 
it was months before he could summon from the field and 
gather in council the first Legislature. 

New York had but two hundred thousand people ; was 
without manufactories or internal improvements, and 
hemmed in and invaded on every side by hostile fleets and 
armies. One hundred years have passed, and to-day m 
the sisterhood of States, she is the empire in all that con- 



22 

stitiites a great Commonwealth. An industrious, intelligent 
and prosperous population of five millions of people live 
within her l^orders. In the value of her farms and farm 
products, and in her manufacturing industries, she is the 
first State in the Union. She sustains over one thousand 
newspapers and periodicals, has eighty millions invested in 
church property, and spends twelve millions of dollars a 
year upon popular education, Up\vard of three hundred 
academies and colleges ht her youtli for special professions 
and furnish opportunities for liberal learning and the 
highest culture, and stately edifices all (^ver the State, 
dedicated to humane and benevolent objects, exhibit the 
permanence and extent of her oi'ganized charities. 

There are three hundi'ed millions of dollars in her 
savings V)anks. Three hundred millions in her insurance 
companies, and five hundred millions in the capital and 
loans of her State and National Banks. Six thousand 
miles of railroads, costing six hundred millions of dollars, 
have penetrated and developed every accessible corner of 
the State, and maintain against all rivalry and competition 
her commercial prestige. 

In 1825 a cannon was hred upon the Battery in New 
York city, in response to the reverberations of the guns 
from Sandy Hook, its echoes were caught and repeated by 
another shot at the Palisades, and so from Tappan Zee to 
the Highlands, and along the Catskills and the valley of 
the Mohawk, and past the falls of the Genesee, till lost 
over the lake at Buffalo, the thunders of artillery 
announced, in one hour and twenty minutes, the whole 
length of the State, that the waters of the lake had been 
wedded to the ocean, and the Erie canal was completed. 
It marked a new era in the prosperity of the State and the 



23 

history of tlie nation. It sent the tide of emigration to 
the northwest, developing there great agricultural States, 
and added immensely to the wealth of New York. All 
honor and gratitude to the men who at that early day had 
the courage and foresight to plan and pursue these great 
public improvements, and whose wisdom has been proven 
by a repetition of the lessons of the ages, that along the 
highways of commerce reside population, wealth, civili- 
zation and power. The glory of each State is the common 
property of the nation, and we make this day our centen- 
nial exhibit. Our inquiry has shown that we need not 
step beyond our own boundaries to iind illustrious annals 
and noble examples. We are rich in battle-fields, decisive 
in results upon the freedom of the nation. 

Jay, Morris and Livingston, Schuyler and Montgomery, 
Clinton and Herkimer, Hamilton and Kent, are names 
which will live among the soldiers, patriots and sages of 
all time. In every crisis of its history, the virtue, courage 
and wisdom of the people have been equal to the needs of 
the present and the wants of the future. 

Let us welcome the second century and enter upon its 
duties with the stern purpose and high resolve to maintain 
the standard of our fathers in the public and private life 
of the State and the honorable superiority of New York 
in the Federal Union. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



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LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 107 424 6 



